. Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not, for she was afraid. That this signifies that human rational truth wished to excuse itself, because it observed that it was not such as it ought to be, is evident without explication.
. He said, Nay, for thou didst laugh. That this signifies that nevertheless it was such, is also evident without explication. How the case is with these things is evident from what is said above (n. 2072) concerning the signification of "laughing," or of "laughter," that it is an affection of the rational, and indeed the affection of truth or of falsity, in the rational, that is the source of all laughter. So long as there is in the rational such an affection as displays itself in laughter, so long there is in it something corporeal or worldly, and thus merely human. Celestial good and spiritual good do not laugh, but express their delight and cheerfulness in the face, the speech, and the gesture, in another way; for there are very many things in laughter, for the most part something of contempt, which, even if it does not appear, nevertheless lies concealed; and laughter is easily distinguished from cheerfulness of the mind, which also produces something similar to it. The state of the human rational with the Lord is described by Sarah’s "laughing;" and thereby is signified with what kind of affection the truth of the rational, at that time separated from good, regarded what was said: that it should be put off, and the Divine put on; not that the Lord laughed, but that He perceived from the Divine what the rational still was, and how much of the human there still was in it, and which was to be expelled. In the internal sense this is what is signified by Sarah‘s "laughing."
GENESIS 18:15previous
- next
- text
- summary
- Genesis
- Full Page